Terry Chow-Untitled Design Led Parasol

At Design Interviews

(Excerpt) Interview with Terry Chow : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Terry Chow : Our main principle is to design something that is highly adaptable to different occasions based on a classic item that everybody knows. We come up with the idea to design the NI noticing that parasol is only used during daytime. We doubt about that as we are always inspired by the concept that things mean more than what we think. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Terry Chow : To make it all-in-one so that it can be moved to anywhere and easily plugged in. “Simple to use” is what we want to achieve. .Frank Scott: What are your future plans for this award winning design?. Terry Chow : To make it even more outstanding and further develop on its concept. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Terry Chow : It took us almost 4-5 years. We once thought that it would appear in the market but it didn’t. That’s why we decided to create it on our own. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Terry Chow : Many people asked the same question. At the beginning it was a side project that we first tried on, as it was totally different from what our company has been working on. .Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Terry Chow : We designed and produced it. .Frank Scott: What made you design this particular type of work?. Terry Chow : We looked at what we have in hands and found that we were ready to do this. .Frank Scott: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?. Terry Chow : No. .Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Terry Chow : The luxury class, high-end customers that are interested in quality of life, and also commercial customers such as hotels, resorts and etc. .Frank Scott: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?. Terry Chow : The overall simplicity. .Frank Scott: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?. Terry Chow : NI means “not exactly” in Spanish. Things tend to be perceived as what they appear to be, but they are actually more than that. The NI Parasol is a parasol, but it is not all of it. It is also a torch, lighting system and etc… .Frank Scott: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?. Terry Chow : CAD and screwdriver…. .Frank Scott: What is the most unique aspect of your design?. Terry Chow : The 3-channel dimmable LED lighting .Frank Scott: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?. Terry Chow : We worked with a guy in Technology Solutions, who graduated with a B.Sc. from McMaster University and Ph.D from University of Toronto. He provided us a lot of support on lighting and PCB design. .Frank Scott: What is the role of technology in this particular design?. Terry Chow : The dimmable 3-channel lighting. .Frank Scott: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?. Terry Chow : The colors of lighting did take us some time to research and test on. .Frank Scott: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?. Terry Chow : The challenge is about remembering the truth that when you get something, you always need to give up something. For example, in making the stand strong enough, we need to use heavier material. It means that the parasol may become more difficult to move. We have to consider on things like this and to make right choices. I guess this applies to not only designs but also many other things too. Balance always has to be achieved. .Frank Scott: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?. Terry Chow : It is unique and we would like to introduce it to the international audience. In this way, it can be adapted to even more different environments. .Frank Scott: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?. Terry Chow : You have to keep tryi.[ End of Excerpt: Read complete interview with Terry Chow on Untitled Design Led Parasol at design-interviews.com ]